Behaviourally disturbed children are increasingly subjected to a quick fix of drugs. By Ruth Thomson
America's pill-popping culture has extended to very young children, with rising numbers of the under-fives being prescribed psychiatric drugs, raising fears that a similar trend may now be developing in this country.
The extent of the problem emerged in new US research, which found a three-fold rise in the number of two- to four-year-olds being prescribed stimulants, anti-depressants and other drugs for perceived psychiatric problems, such as hyperactivity.
The study, carried out by a team of researchers at Maryland University, analysed prescriptions to more than 200,000 children aged two to four in the five years to 1995. In the largest sample of 150,000 children, it was found that prescriptions of stimulants rose from 4.1 to 12.3 per 1,000 children, while anti-depressant prescriptions increased from 1.4 to 3.2 per 1,000.
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